Anthrax - State Of Euphoria (1988) [Polystar P33D-20077, Japan]

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Anthrax - State Of Euphoria (1988) [Polystar P33D-20077, Japan]

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After the awesomeness that was Spreading the Disease and Among the effing Living, Anthrax really set the bar pretty darn high. They had established a unique, heavy, and humorous thrash formula that they used to put out some of the best songs of the genre. Among the Living is a classic to this day and is a nearly flawless thrash album, and while it was an absolutely outstanding record, it left a shadow looming down over the band: how the fudge were they going to put together another batch of thrash cookies that could stand up to Among the Living? Well they did with State of Euphoria. While it is not nearly as fantastic as Among the Living, it is indeed a very solid album with some awesome tracks and moments.

State of Euphoria is both similar and different to Among the Living in a couple of ways. The classic Anthrax sound we all know and love is definitely here and the humor and quirkiness is also back. It is different in that there is a definite darker feel to the music (You would not expect that from the goofy bright yellow album art). The riffs are sometimes more menacing and heavier, while those from Among the Living and Spreading the Disease especially were much faster and not nearly as dark. Nearly all of the tracks are mid-paced in tempo, and if your an Anthrax fan, you know what to expect from the song layout on nearly all of these. All of the songs are very similar, yet just different enough to make it a good album rather than a bland collection of the same song over and over. The only exceptions are "Who Cares Wins", the weakest song on the album by far, and "Finale", which is one of the more enjoyable tracks that features a unique and badass riff. "Who Cares Wins" is quite meh, it starts off like it might be decent, but it turns out to be quite the bland number. It is also far too long and it really drags on, unlike "Horror of it All" (a similarly constructed song of a similar length) from the last album which was absolutely amazing and probably being their best song. One thing I will criticize is that a lot of the verses on the album are kinda weak. Its not like they are bad its just that they seem a little uninspired, especially when compared to the verses of great Anthrax songs from "Indians" or "Lone Justice", and I take a few points off of the album because of this.

My favorite songs on State of Euphoria, and which are in my opinion the best songs on the record are "Now it's Dark", "Schism", "Finale", and the Trust cover "Antisocial". They do an excellent job on the Trust cover, especially taking into account that it was originally sung in French. "Schism" is a classic 'Thrax track, and "Now It's Dark" has a very cool intro, a really awesome chorus, and the best riff on the album towards the middle. The rest of the songs, with the exception of the bland "Who Cares Wins" and the weird little "13", are all really good songs as well.

The musicianship and instrumentation on here is pretty good. It is not nearly as tight and fast as some of Anthrax's earlier stuff but it is still decent. It is almost as if Anthrax are taking a more simplistic approach to the riffs and songwriting, its not laziness (cough cough Metallica cough cough) but more of a straightforward approach. The riffs Scott pumps out are all great, but not amazing. This is probably my favorite album for Dan Spitz though, his soloing is actually really good here, it is not nearly as frenetic, but more melodic and I have to give him props for that. Charlie Benante's drumming is fantastic as usual with lots of tasteful yet powerful drum lines backing up the songs. He is one of my favorite thrash drummers for sure. Frank Bello is one of my favorite bass players of all time, he is an absolute beast of bassist fusing the techniques of two of the greatest bass players of all time: heaviness of Geezer Butler and the fills and precision of Steve Harris. All that being said, his bass playing is great here, but not nearly as great as the other three records from this lineup and time period. Joey is one of thrash's best vocalists as well, but in my opinion this is his weakest vocal performance. It is definitely good, but kinda washed up sounding. This would change for Persistence of Time, he ruled on that one just as he did on Among the Living. Overall the musicianship is great, but definitely could be better, and I deduct a little more from the score due to that.

Overall, State of Euphoria is a great release and it does stand up to Among the Living. It is not nearly as great as its predecessor or the beast to come after it. It is full of great thrash tracks and it is a really enjoyable listen. I recommend this to fans of heavy and thrash metal and to Anthrax fans who are unsure whether to get this album. It is definitely worth adding to the collection, I was definitely surprised with the quality, as I heard it was mediocre. It is not at all mediocre, but it is not quite excellent either. All in all, a very solid album that won't disappoint if you check it out. "Over, Finished, Gone, Done, Out!"

by stainedclass2112, metal-archives.com

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Anthrax - State Of Euphoria (1988) [Polystar P33D-20077, Japan]

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Anthrax - State Of Euphoria (1988) [Polystar P33D-20077, Japan]

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Anthrax - State Of Euphoria (1988) [Polystar P33D-20077, Japan]

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